This invention relates to a toy and more particularly to a toy bubble-blowing machine.
Toy bubble-blowing machines are devices by which a child can produce a relatively continuous stream of bubbles from a bubble-forming liquid or solution stored within the machine. These machines usually include: a reservoir for holding the bubble-forming liquid; a rotatable dipper having apertures or rings for picking up the liquid and forming a film from which the bubble is formed; means for blowing air through the dipper rings or apertures so as to form the bubble; and drive means for rotating the dipper and in some situations for providing the air flow necessary for forming the bubbles.
The bubble-blowing machines can be classified according to their drive means. Thus there are (1) breath-actuated devices, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,628,449, 2,736,988 and 2,987,847; (2) electrically-driven devices as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,412,732 and 3,100,947; or (3) mechanically-driven devices as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,547,825 and 2,794,292.
Breath-actuated devices are felt to be undesirable since parents generally prefer to avoid purchasing or permitting their children to use a toy which the child must place in its mouth. The electrically actuated toys are felt to be undesirable since parents may avoid purchasing or permitting their children to use toys which have a fan or impeller that is driven at high speeds by an electrical motor. Such electrical toys present both electrical and mechanical hazards. The prior art mechanically driven bubble-blowers are generally suitable from a safety point of view but have not been widely accepted.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a mechanically driven bubble-blowing machine which is safe for a child to use, acceptable to parents, and which is relatively simple in design and inexpensive to manufacture.
These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following disclosure and appended claims.